Travel Week in Review – February 10th, 2023

Airfare prices are once again on the rise as travel heads into the spring and summer months but are expected to remain well below last summer’s peak prices. Domestic airfare is forecast to rise about 5 percent this month to an average price of $277 round trip and then continue to increase heading into the warmer seasons. But while the average ticket price is expected to hit about $350 this summer, that will be an 11 percent drop. Read More…

Passport stamps are badges of honor for many travelers, forming a paper trail of their adventures. But they could soon be a thing of the past when entering the Schengen Area. The new automated Entry/Exit System (EES), due to launch in November 2023, will register non-EU visitors digitally, removing the need for physical stamps. “EES will replace the current system of manual stamping of passports, which is time-consuming.” Read More…

U.S. visitors—as well as visitors from Europe, Australia, and Canada—will soon be required to apply for permission to enter the U.K. through a new scheme known as Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The U.K. government is in the process of fully digitizing U.K. borders by the end of 2025—and the ETA scheme will play its part, allowing “individuals and carriers, with more assurance at an earlier point in time about their ability to travel to the U.K.,” the government said. Read More…

You’re hurrying through airport security to make it to your gate on time. You grab your boots, purse, and jacket and sprint to board your flight. Once you’ve settled into your seat, your heart sinks—you left behind your laptop at the TSA checkpoint after you took it out of your bag for screening. What happens to it now? According to TSA, approximately 90,000 to 100,000 items are left behind at security checkpoints every month. If it happens to you, there’s an easy way to be reunited with your lost item. Read More…

Hawaii state leaders nearly passed a law last year to better safeguard Hawaii’s imperiled natural resources by raising revenues through a $40 or $50 tourist “green fee.” Proponents hope to build on that momentum this year and push a visitor-impact fee. Exactly how such a fee would work – and how it might address Hawaii’s growing conservation needs as more tourists flock to an island chain that’s often dubbed the “endangered species capital of the world” – has been hotly debated for the past half-decade or so. Read More…